Shameless Summer Sun
by sadistic lunatic
Summary: Oneshot. post-X-Force v3 #10. Elixir/X-23. Laura's acting strangely and Josh is . . .


**A/N:** Shameless X-23/Elixir piece set after X-Force v3 10. I'm not really sure what to make of this but, well, enjoy!

* * *

To be fair, Joshua Foley was still a hot-blooded teen-aged male under his gold skin. He tried not to show it _(well, after the fling with Rahne)_ but damn, was it hard! With a walking wet dream like Emma Frost as _(ex)_Headmistress, sashaying _(for that was what his eyes perceived her walking as)_ around in her _lingerie_, of course there were many a time he retreated to the sanctity of a cold shower.

'Course, that was a year ago - _before_ his friends isolated him, the M-Day disaster, Stryker's crusade, brief tussle with Belasco in _(hell)_Limbo, Hulk's attack and the Messiah War. It was funny how many things could happen in a year. Since (_initially unwillingly_) joining Cyclops' black ops team, X-Force, he'd thought he'd finally grew up and out of that stage – when he thought he was still a _normal_ teen with _normal_ problems. Now though, seeing _her_ gulp down the ice-cold liquid from that innocent jug of water made him realize how much he missed those cold showers.

She stood there, gracefully and powerfully and _just so_ enchantingly, one hand resting on her waist while the other tilting the jug so she could _inhale_ the refreshing liquid. The light passing through the window illuminated the light sheen of sweat on her skin, making her glow ethereally, enhanced even more by the velvet glow of her dark hair. A small trail of water dripped down the side of her lip, tracing her smooth cheeks down to a slender jaw and neck, where it continued its journey south between twin pert mounds as it slipped under her shirt.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat on the couch. It didn't occur to him how blatantly he was staring at the raven beauty.

He never realized how _hot_ Laura Kinney was until that morning. He, like Domino, couldn't believe that such a petite young woman could slit throats _more_ professionally than Wolverine himself.

She set the plastic jug down on the wooden counter and then wiped her moist lips with the back of her hand. He swallowed the lump in his throat -

"Josh?"

- and choked on it when her jade eyes found his shimmering gold. She sauntered _(damn hormones)_ the few steps between them and kneeled down to meet his eyes. He _hacked_ again. "Are you okay?"

"Fine!" he answered a bit too quickly, as Laura's brow knitted. She gripped the sides of his face before pressing his forehead against hers. Red seeped through his golden skin as he caught sight of her cleavage from under her shirt _(no bra!)_. _It_jumped.

He quickly averted his eyes and met hers in the process. He found himself getting lost in the clarity of her beautiful jade orbs.

"Your body temperature is approximately 37.9 degrees Celsius – you are bordering feverish. Perhaps it would be wise to rest?" she commented her findings. She showed no indication of pulling away.

Her voice snapped him out of his trance. Not bothering to figure out how Laura could tell his body temperature _(she was a very capable young woman),_ he straightened and calmed himself. "I'm fine. It's probably just the heat getting to me, that's all." He then grinned at her. "Besides, remember my power? I'm the last person who should be worried about illnesses."

"I disagree." Her quick answer caught him off guard. "I had been infected by a large dose of the mutated Legacy virus – by your admission - mere thirty-two hours previous, during which you came in direct contact with me. Given your mutant ability, there is a 98% probability that the virus has been purged from my system completely and a 2% probability of it remaining dormant. Without any proper medical diagnosis by Dr. McCoy, we have no real way of saying the virus is gone."

She stopped and waited patiently for him to digest her words.

"So you're saying . . ." he scrunched up his brows. "That I may be infected by the virus?"

She smiled at him. It was nothing more than a small upturning of the corners of her _(luscious)_lips, but a smile nonetheless. "Precisely. You were also severely weakened – to the point of dropping me into a vat of molten metal -" Elixir winced and gave another apology. "-after attempting to purge the virus from my body during which a weakened strain of the virus may have entered your system. You did not have time to purge the virus from your body."

Her latest proclamation alarmed him. "Wait, so I could be dying right now?"

She just looked at him unblinkingly. "Perhaps."

He held his left arm with his right hand. While technically not needing to hold himself for his powers to work, the stance allowed him more concentration. Her hand suddenly shot to cover his before he could activate his powers. "Stop."

"Why?"

She seemed unsure of herself for a second before answering "There is no sufficient evidence that suggests the virus is in your system." She paused, trying to find words to support her argument. "There is no telling what your powers could do – do you even know what you're doing?"

He hesitated – which was more than enough for her to continue. "It would be better for you to just _lie down_ and _rest_." She pressed her palms against his chest and pushed him slowly down the couch. "Take it easy. We can convince Beast to give us a check-up tomorrow."

A third of him accepted her words, another third kept nagging about something suspicious, while the other third could only stare dumbly as those lips moved and enjoy the contact of her hands on his skin as she straddled his waist, palms gently kneading his chest before placing themselves on the sides of his face as she lowered her body.

It never occurred to him that she intended to lay down on top of him until her pert breasts pressed against his chest. He stiffened before his brain began to reboot. Laura blinked as Elixir seemed to teleport to the other side of the room.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he all but shouted as he pressed his back against the wall.

The young woman rested her head on her hand as she faced him. "I am helping you relax, Josh." She patted the small space between her and the edge of the couch. "Come back here. It would do you no good to stress your body with the virus coursing through your system."

"You said that the virus is not in my body!"

"I merely stated a probability." Her emerald eyes _gleamed_ suddenly. "Now, come back here and lie down."

It was at that moment that his brain decided to enlighten him. Laura was laying down on her side on the couch, relaxed, with her head propped up by her right hand as her left arm lay comfortably on her hip. Those _(delicious)_ lips were stretched in a sultry grin as her eyes – those seductive jade orbs – beckoned him over to join her on the couch.

_Wait – what?_

He swallowed hard. So many scenarios ran through his head, mostly involving him _in_ or _ending as_ a bloody mess, if he was wrong about his next statement. "Laura, are you trying to seduce me?"

Her gleam suddenly disappeared as uncertainty crept through her features. A moment of silence descended upon the two mutants before she nodded slowly.

". . . yes." Her voice was almost inaudible as she spoke.

Josh's jaw hit the floor.

"I'm . . . sorry if I'm not any good at this." She apologized. She stood up from her position and slowly walked toward him. "I sought out advice and acted accordingly." She stopped as she stood right in front of him and bowed her head. "I am sorry if I offended you."

Now, Josh Foley was anything but stupid. Sure he was dense as a tree, but that didn't mean he was stupid. He was just unlucky, most of the time. So, he knew when to stop and think instead of shooting his mouth off _(which he normally did)_.

He studied the young woman in front of him, seeing her in a new light, as he considered his options. Sighing, he cautiously wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close, running a hand through her raven locks _(which had thankfully grown back to its original length)_.

She raised her head and stared curiously at his eyes. "Josh?"

"I . . . appreciate the sentiment, Laura." He stammered. A cute blush crept its way through her cheeks which did little to help him concentrate. "But, if you liked me, all you had to do was say so." He inwardly smacked himself at how arrogant and conceited that sounded –

"I like you."

- and thanked his lucky stars that that didn't end badly.

Elixir blinked. She didn't even pause to ponder his words. Well, he did tell her to tell him if she liked him so . . .

So . . .

Pause. Rewind. Play. "You like me?"

She nodded. "I do not believe I said anything else."

"You . . . like . . . me?"

"Yes." She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought their faces close. "Very much." She said with as much sincerity as she could.

His heart skipped a beat as their eyes met. Realizing that he had to say something _(because it just wouldn't do to gape like a fish all day)_, he rested his arms around her waist. "I like you, too."

"Good."

He looked at her, puzzled.

She quickly closed the gap between their lips. She paused, as if waiting for something, which he correctly interpreted as his cue to do his part.

Which he did with a passion, if the low throaty moan she mewled out was any indication.

Hours later, after the two teens had broken apart and lay down on the couch, next to each other, limbs tangled together and hair and clothes ruffled _(for Josh knew they shouldn't move too fast; a sexually-charged make-out session was plenty far already)_, Elixir decided to voice out his musings.

"So, you were trying to seduce me, from the point of drinking from that jug onwards?" he spoke to the young woman curled on his chest as he ran his fingers through her silky hair. He could get used to this.

She looked up at him. "I am certain that I have answered affirmative to this question before."

"Just wondering again." He smiled serenely when she shifted closer when he stopped combing through her hair and laid his hand on the small of her back. "I mean, threatening a person with the Legacy Virus is _not_ the conventional way of seducing people."

"I was only following his advice." She closed her eyes and smiled softly.

"Oh?" _That_ caught his interest. "Whose?"

"Wolverine."

His eyes shot open.

_What? !_

* * *

**Notes:**

1) I am aware that, canon-wise, Elixir is currently dating Loa as the events in this fic is taking place. Well, this IS fanfiction so I can tweak the universe a bit

2) Regarding Laura's hair, I figure 32 hours is enough for it to grow back to its original length, given how fast her hair grew in the pages of X-Force v3 10

Tell me of any typos, I haven't proof-read this yet.

Review please!


End file.
